Shadow over Ryngrii
by BCS Darkie Shark
Summary: A BC S DS Fanfic about Black, the Last Quiinkane, and her struggle to keep her identity hidden.


_01 - The Last Quiinkane_

_My name is Black. I don't have a Surname because I do not have the knowledge of being given one..._

Black gasped for air as she took cover behind a metal crate on the dock of Ryngrii, her home town. She looked around cautiously as she heard grenades exploding not too far away from where she was hiding. Black was a Quiinkane, An alien species that was slowly being wiped from the face of their planet. The unknown race had been living in a darker region of the Tyuru galaxy, a virtually undiscovered place that had only been visited by the Protheans before their mysterious extinction.

Quiinkanians look more like dragons than other alien races; their bodies are covered with tough skin, similar to the Turians. Their faces look similar to the Krogan, only smoother and without skull plates, though every Quiinkane has a set of horns and some hair. They have a bipedal stance though some of the elder Quiinkanians prefer to walk on all fours, using their long tails for balance. Despite all of these qualities distinguishing them significantly from other races, the most distinct and awe-inspiring feature of a Quiinkanian is their jaw. Their razor-sharp teeth are kept in brilliant condition and teeth that are lost are replaced quickly, retaining the ivory-like appearance for the entire 7 centuries that they can live for.

Black folded her wings in close to her body to prevent stray bullets and shrapnel from piercing the paper-thin membrane. She could hear her elders, friends and family fighting the invaders, only interrupted by the occasional cry from a Quiinkane in peril.

She put her clawed hands on the floor, readying herself to escape to the next nearest crate for safety. The cries did not shift her; she had been taught to block out everything when in battle to ensure survival; after all, if she had sat there whimpering, like her conscious wanted to do, she would be dead by now.

When she heard the gun shots being directed in the opposite direction to where she was, Black remained low and ran to the next crate, hiding as she had been doing for the past hour or so; Soon she would be close enough to the dock to silently activate a ship with the key she found on her way there. Black knew that when she activated the quick start, it would only be a matter of time before the invaders found out and destroyed it. It was a tough job, but if Black wanted to survive, she would have to take any chance she had, however risky.

She moved to the next crate and held the ship's key securely. With brilliant timing, Black pressed the Quick start button on the key and ran into the ship though the open door that closed behind her hastily.

When she heard the reliving clank of the door's dead-locking system as she ran up to the front, Black let out a sigh of relief.

When she reached the front, she jumped into the chair and pressed the buttons before her. A computer reported,

"Thrusters Engaged. Prepare for take off,"

"No, no, I don't have time for this..." Black punched the red button in front of her,

"Prepare for immediate launch,"

Black strapped herself into the seat securely before the ship had time to activate the thrusters that would send the ship hurtling into outer space in a matter of seconds. She held the wheel tightly, so as not to let the ship spin out of control during the forced launch.

Black felt her ears pop as the ship broke through the atmosphere.

"You are now leaving Ryngrii docking station and the host planet. Please set destination co-ordinates on the navigation screen," The computer ordered. If Black could enter the co-ordinates for the Citadel: the only place she knew was safe, the ship would take her the rest of the way there.

Black searched along the sides for some sort of ship name; she knew that she would have to be granted clearance by the citadel or the Alliance would be onto her.

"Talon 619..." Black read the inscription embossed into the metal beside her during it's manufacture. After finding out the name of the ship, Black set the co-ordinates on the screen to the Citadel, that would take her through a mass relay in another galaxy. To get there, it would be another 5 hours. Black made sure that everything was in order and she contacted the Ryngrii regimental base.

"This is Agent 347 requesting intercom..." She waited for a response, on screen she could see blood spatters on the walls. She almost thought it was too late.

"Agent 347! This is Sergeant Wells speaking. Intercom has been granted. What is your position?"

"Aboard the Talon 619 Sir," Black reported,

"Any others with you?" He asked hopefully,

"I'm sorry sir, none of my regiment made it out of Ryngrii central station except myself... Not even an elder managed to escape," Black frowned sadly,

"You are headed for the Citadel?"

"Yes sir," Black nodded,

"Do you have clearance?"

"As far as I know it does, sir,"

"Are you sure? It isn't going to be a good idea to go into the Citadel and request clearance if you don't have it. The Alliance will be on your case Agent 347, and they cannot find out about our race,"

"I understand sir, I assure you that I have the correct clearance for the Citadel as we were given by the Protheans all those years ago when it was new," Black looked at the other screen, and by the time she looked back, the transmission was lost. Black hung her head; she knew what this meant. The invaders had found the Sergeant and killed him, hitting the transmitter at the same time, "This is terrible..." Black looked at the screen sadly, "I'm... the only survivor..."

_When 5 hours had finally passed and I saw the Mass Relay ahead of me, I knew instantly that I had escaped the fate that had befallen my fellow Quiinkanians. I put my hands together and prayed for the peaceful rest of the deceased. My friends, My family (Wherever they were) and My elders, who had taught me so much in my years._

The Mass Relay shone it's light out across the emptiness, Black pressed on; she knew that it was only a matter of time before the relay would transport her to the Citadel.

"Prepare for Mass Relay contact. In 3...2...1..." The computer counted down the seconds as the Mass Relay took the ship in it's catapult-like shape.

Black sat back with the seatbelt fastened tightly as the Talon travelled through the Mass Relay and ended up facing the Citadel's star shaped appearance.

"Please state the ships name for Clearance," A man spoke over an intercom,

"Talon 619," Black waited eagerly,

"Talon 619, you are clear. An Alliance ship will ensure your safe landing,"

Black smiled; she had reached a sanctuary where none of the invaders would get her. For sure; they thought she was dead anyway.

The Talon landed in the landing bay and the Doors opened for Black to leave.

Her clawed, but soft, feet touched the floor of the Citadel landing bay. She dead-locked the ship with the key she put back into the inside pocket of her long cloak.

The elevator connecting the landing bay to the Citadel floor opened as she walked close to it. She stood inside and pressed the down button. A number of Alliance advertisements played as the elevator made it's decent.

Black looked around as the elevator reached the floor. Groups of aliens and humans chatted and laughed amongst each other. Fountains that decorated the Citadel made Black miss her long walks through the Ryngrii gardens.

"I just hope I don't stick out..." Black sighed, "What am I saying? Of course I will! No other alien race have long tails and horns like the Quiinkanians!" She stopped talking when the doors opened for her and she walked out into the open, rather awkwardly; she could feel the eyes of others watching her every move. Black walked quicker as she felt more and more uneasy, she watched as a human behind her start to walk the same way as her and she didn't watch where she was going. She ended up walking straight into a Turian,

"Oh my, I'm so sorry," Black shuddered as the Turian turned around to face her, "I was careless," She bowed.

"That's alright," He looked at her, "You're unlike anyone I've ever seen around here before, not to sound disrespectful,"

"Oh, Not at all," Black smiled, "It's my first time here, I'm a little nervous... I'm Black,"

"Garrus," He nodded his head, acknowledging her.

Black tried to avoid Garrus' last question, then he asked again,

"How come I've never seen any of your kind before, Black?"

Black sighed; she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her species a secret from a Turian for long, "The reason is..." She lowered her voice so that no one else would hear, "I'm the last of my kind. I'm a Quiinkane. The rest of my species have been wiped out by some invaders. We don't know who they were or why they came to destroy our home, but they did a pretty good job of it," Black looked at him sadly, "Everyone is dead, there wasn't a single survivor besides myself,"

"How did you survive?" Garrus asked,

"I found an activation key for a ship and I took it here. I told a group to follow me but they didn't make it out of the station..." Black looked at the ground, "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to leave. I have to get to a clothes store to hide my face before I try to buy an apartment or something around here," She sighed, "It was nice meeting you. I have to ask you not to tell anyone of my existence... The Quiinkanians have remained a galactic secret for millions of years, living in solitude of other races except the Protheans," Black looked around and hurried off into the shadows. She made her way to the bustling walkways of the wards. Black pushed past a group of people to get into the Turian clothes shop. She entered and was greeted by a Female Turian,

"Welcome! How may I help you?" She asked cheerfully,

"I need to buy a long coat with a large collar," Black asked, "And a hat of some sort would help,"

"I think we have just the thing," The Turian showed Black a long, Black jacket with Red stitching that was just as she wanted, "Or we have this as well," She held up a plain coat with a large hood.

"I'll take them both in a Medium," Black nodded. Shops everywhere now operated the same way as ones in Ryngrii. She handed the card from her pocket to the cashier. The computer beeped to signify a successful transaction and the Cashier handed the card back,

"Thank you for shopping with us," The Turian handed Black a bag with her coats in, "Please come again!" She beamed.

Black left the shop and ran to the nearest place that she knew would get her an apartment somewhere in the wards. She didn't care where it was situated, she just knew she needed one before anyone found out about her.

"Good afternoon ma'am," A Salarian sat at the front desk, neatly dressed in a suit, "How may I help you?"

"I need an apartment somewhere here in the Citadel. I don't care where it is, I just need one as soon as possible,"

"Of course," The Salarian looked at the computer screen and pressed a few buttons, "Is there anywhere in particular in the citadel that you'd like to be?"

"As close to the Presidium as possible please," Black loved the Presidium, she had heard the Protheans talking about it when she was young and always wanted to be able to walk along the lakeside of the Citadel's inner ring. Fortunately for her, being a friend of the Protheans gave her access to anywhere within the Citadel without any questions asked. If they needed proof of clearance, the card that Black also used as a debit card had a proof of identity inside the magnetic strip.

The Salarian looked at her, "We have a suite in the Presidium if you'd prefer. It's Two bedroom, not too shabby, and it's right beside the lake. We haven't had any offers for it because not a lot of people looking to move have clearance to the Presidium. I expect that you do, since you want to be so close to it?"

Black nodded, "That sounds prefect, Thank you," She handed the Salarian her card, "How long will it be ready in? I'm kind of in a hurry,"

"Oh it's a brand new suite. As soon as you sign the papers you can move in," He smiled,

"That's great," Black smiled. The Salarian handed her card back to her and pushed some papers to her over the desk, along with a pen. Black signed them where the Salarian pointed out after reading them quickly but thoroughly. When she had finished, he handed her the copies of the documents and the access code,

"When you get there you'll need to program the voice recognition software. If you enter that code you can get in without programming it at first. I recommend that you program the software after settling in. Make it one of the higher priority things to do and you'll be fully protected. I hope you enjoy your suite ma'am. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or my colleagues. The number is on the documents,"

"Thank you so much," Black bowed and left the shop, making her way towards the Presidium.

Black walked quickly to the elevator and She passed the card through the reader. The elevator started to move upwards and Black listened to the advertisements again. The Alliance were trying to introduce more humans into C-Sec, which Black could understand; there was a lot of bias toward the human race after the First Contact War. Her race were not involved in it, but the news and press coverage on it were huge enough to even reach the corner of the universe in which she and her relatives lived.

Despite the Alliance's efforts to get more human stores in the Citadel, businesses preferred to invest in the more major races such as Turians. There was no sign of specific Quiinkane items, luckily for Black the Quiinkanians could wear Turian clothing, thanks to their slender bodies.

The elevator opened at the Presidium floor and Black walked out, she looked at the sky and the lake with awe. What she had been told as a child amazed her more now she was looking at the real thing. It was a sight better than the Wards; it wasn't as crowded with such a specific clearance criteria and the Presidium housed some of the most beautiful buildings in the Citadel.

Black walked over to her suite, it's modernised exterior made her walk even faster towards it, the new voice recognition system shone in the light. She entered the access code and the door opened, revealing the well-furnished interior.

"This is even better than the Salarian said," Black looked around at the chairs and a coffee table that sat in the middle of the lounge that particularly caught her eye. She put the bag containing her new coats on the sofa and decided to take a look around.


End file.
